Do you know Georg Friedrich Händel’s (1685–1759) suite Water Music?
I know that I am prone to synesthetic impressions when smelling a fragrance, mostly I see colors associated with the smell. Jean-Claude Ellena’s ninth Hermessence made music in my head.
Clear trumpets, far away horns, compelling rhythms, strings sparkling with joy. All that and more is Händels Suite N° 2 Alla Hornpipe.
And that is Iris Ukiyoé. A light blue expanse of water, soft iris petal floating in and out of the gently moving picture. Tender, evanescent, but not fleeting. Deceptively soft. Dreamy, but not unreal. An exercise in clarity.
Please smell with music on.
But despite this precision and clarity, Iris Ukiyoé leaves me curiously cold. It is like the music comes from a musical clock, not a flesh and blood musician. I can appreciate its art, but it leaves me unmoved.
That, I’m afraid, is all.
Hermessences are exclusively available at Hermes Boutiques worldwide. Iris Ukiyoé was created by Jean-Claude Ellena in 2010. It features notes of mandarin, water iris, orange blossom, green shoots, green watery notes.
Reviews, more eloquent than mine, can be found here:
Olfactoria's Travels 
Birgit, I love Handel, but this piece is one of my favorites. You made my morning by including it in your review. 🙂 I immediately unpacked some of my Handel CDs and got inspired to listen to more of his music.
Completely in agreement with you on the fragrance, it is lovely, but without a soul. Too serious, perhaps?
I’m glad I could pass on the joy I feel when listening to Handel! It is such beautiful music, so effervescent!
I think Ellena may have been too much into experimenting with this fragrance, so the joy got a little lost on the way.
I love that you hear music when you smell perfume! I do too, but on rare occasion. I hope it strikes you more often because I would love to listen and sniff along!
Although I’m a moody Brahms and Schumann gal, I cannot deny the power of Handel’s music to clear the mind and fill the soul with joy!
I hope, too. If one were to imagine the other way around, how great must a perfume be, that smells like Schumann’s Fourth…
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